Rolling mill and retractable stand therefor



c. c. WALES 3,043,170

7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

(64449155 Cl 1444i E5 BY ROLLING MILL AND RETRACTABLE STAND THEREFOR Filed Aug. 28, 1959 ATTORNEY July 10, 1962 I c. c. WALES 3,043,170

ROLLING MILL AND RETRACTABLE STAND THEREFOR Filed Aug. 28, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Pg} 9 JNVENTOR.

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ATTOQNEZL July 10, 1962 c. c. WALES ROLLING MILL AND RETRACTABLE STAND THEREFOR 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 28, 1959 INVENTOR. 09.44459 6. 144444-25 C. C. WALES July 10, 1962 ROLLING MILL AND RETRACTABLE STAND THEREFOR I 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Aug. 28, 1959 INVENTOR.

- (Mp!!! CMZIFJ 5y I 9M)? 7 Arrow/er 3,043,170 ROLLDIG NEIL AND RETRACTABLE STAND THEREFOR Charles C. Wales, Bay Village, Ghio, assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 836,789 13 Claims. (Ci. 80-36) This invention relates to a rolling-mill composed of a plurality of stands and, in particular, to a stand adapted for use in a continuous, multistand mill for rolling pipe, bars, rods or billets, wherein the several stands are disposed at about 45 to the horizontal and inclined alternately in opposite directions.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a mill made up of stands each having a unitary roll housing which may quickly be moved parallel to the roll axes to bring different grooves in the roll faces into alinement with the pass line of the mill or to retract the stand to an out-of-the-way position when the rolls thereof are not required for the schedule to be rolled or for the purpose of repairing or replacing the housing.

A further object is to provide power means for shifting the stand and means which may be set in advance for determining the repositioning of the stand when changing from one set of grooves to another.

An additional object is to provide a rollhousing which can readily be replaced as a unit with its rolls and checks while the mill continues to operate and is entirely selfcontained so it may be set up tightly and adjusted finally before being placed in operative position.

A further object is to provide support means automatically actuated into position by retraction of a stand to outof-the-way position for supporting and preventing excessive deflection of the portion of a continuous length of pipe, bar or other product in process, beyond the last stand remaining in operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a supporting frame having opposed decks sloping from a central ridge, with Ways normal to the ridge, extends parallel to the pass line of the mill. A carriage movable on the ways has a fluid-pressure cylinder therein, the piston rod of which is secured to a fixed anchorage. A roll housing having bearing chocks fixed therein is removably secured to the carriage. Rolls journaled in the chocks are driven through pinions and spindles journaled in a housing forming part of the carriage. A spline shaft coupled to one of the pinions is slidable through a bevel gear by which power is applied to the stand from a horizontal cross shaft.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description and explanation which refer to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment. In the drawlngs:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view showing two successive stands the axes of the rolls of which are at about a 90 angle;

FIGURE 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section along the plane of line II--II of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section through the supporting frame showing adjacent stands in elevation;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the plane of line IVIV of FIGURE 3, through the carriage and the ways on which it slides;

FIGURE 5 is a view partly in section along the plane of line V--V of FIGURE 4 and partly in elevation;

FIGURE 6 is a partial section taken along the plane of line VIVI of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6a is a partial section taken along the line VIaVIa of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 6b is a partial elevation looking from the left 7 on FIGURE 6;

Zifiihlld Fatented July 1%, 19652 2 FIGURE 7 is an elevation of the outboard end of the roll housing and the carriage to which it is secured;

FIGURE 8 is a section through the housing and carriage taken along the plane of line VIIIVIII of FIG- 5 URE 7;

actuated support means for the pipe, bar or other prodnot; and

FIGURE 13 is a similar view showing detail. Referring now in detail to the drawings and, for the 1 present, particularly to FIGURES 1-5, a mill comprising a plurality of stands according to my invention is supported on an elongated frame 16. The frame includes spaced side walls (see FIGURE 3), oppositely pitched deck plates 12 extending upwardly and inwardly from the side walls, a ridge beam 13 and web plates 14- spaced along the length of the frame. The upper edges of the deck plates terminate short of beam 13 and are connected thereto by struts 15. A drain trough or sluice box 16 extends longitudinally through the frame centrally thereof and shed plates 17 extend downwardly from the upper edges of plates 12 to the sides of the trough.

Ways 18 are mounted on one of the plates 12, normal to beam 13 and slidably support a carriage 19 having a base on which is removably mounted a unitary roll housing 20 (see FIGURE 4). The upper ends of the ways are supported by a post 18a. A spline shaft 21 extends downwardly from a pinion-and-spindle housing 22 on the carriage and slides through a bevel gear journaled in a gear box 23. A bevel pinion meshing with the gear is mounted on a cross shaft 24-. Shaft 24 is journaled in a tube 25 removably inserted through a larger tube 26 ex-.

tending between side walls 11, and is driven by any suitable means such as a line shaft parallel to frame 10.

As shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, ways 18 are secured to the upper edges of a guide trough 27 secured to plate 12, by bolt lugs 27a. This trough has sides 28, a bottom 29 and an end wall 30. Carriage 19 has spaced flanged webs 31 depending into the trough and is held on the Ways by gibs 32 secured to the carriage by stud bolts 33. The base of carriage 19 has shoes 34 formed thereon to receive housing 20 which abuts pinion-and-spindle housing 22 on the lower side thereof. That is, the carriage base and housing 22 provide a V into which the integral housing 20 fits like a block. Housing 20 is secured on the carriage by pivot bolts 35 engaging inclined bearing pads 35a, one on each side at the upper end of the housing, and a central through bolt 36. On its lower end, bolt 36 has a wedging cross bar 37* (FIGURE 8) the ends of which bear on inclined lugs 36a at the lower end of the housing.

A double-acting cylinder 38 is fixed centrally of carriage 19 by means of a welded on flange 38a (FIGURES 4 and 8) and has a tubular piston rod 39 therein extending downwardly therefrom to an anchorage 40 (FIG- URES 3, 10 and 11) secured to the side walls 28 of the trough 27 adjacent their lower end. By means of a pipe 41 extending through piston rod 39, power fluid may be admitted to the upper end of the cylinder to force the carriage up the ways. A connection (not shown) to the tubular piston rod similarly permits fluid to be supplied to the lower end of the cylinder to cause the carriage to slide downwardly along the ways. Downward movement of the carriage is arrested by stops 42 pivoted to side walls 28. Housing 20 overhangs trough 27 on both sides (FIGURE 2). Thus, on outward tilting of the a retracted.

by rollers 44:: on the carriage, on retraction of the latter to out-of-the-way position. The down-tilted position of cranks 43 is limited by adjustable stop pins 45 (FIGURE 12) slidable in guide sleeves 45:: secured to' the side walls of the trough. The pins are adjusted so sleeve 451 will be coaxial with the pass line when the carriage is fully FIGURES 8 and 9 show the details of the pinion-andspindle housing 22 which is formed integral with the carriage 19 and of the roll housing 20 carried thereby, A pinion box 46 secured to housing 22 has shafts 47 journaled therein and meshing pinions 48' on the shafts.

rolls 50 having mating grooves therein together defining a plurality of reducing passes. By movement of the carriage 19 along ways 18, different sets of grooves in the roll faces may be brought into alinement with the pass line through the mill indicated at 51. In order to effect the required reduction in the pipe blank or welded tube of maximum size entering the first stand, a large 7 number of stands is required, the sizes of the roll grooves of successive stands in alinement with the pass line decreasing from stand to stand.

The several sets of grooves in the rolls of each stand may be used in succession until they have all been worn to a predetermined extent. The stand is then removed and the grooves are dressed to provide grooves of the next larger size, Without altering the nominal roll diameter and moved up to the preceding stand. Thus, the rolls have their maximum diameter, say 1 6", when placed in the last eight or ten stands. After several groove redressings, their diameter is turned down to about 14" for use in the earlier. eight or ten stands. Since the grooves are smaller in the later stands, a larger number, for example ten may be formed in a roll of a given face length such as 30", as shown in FIGURE '8. In the earlier stands, the grooves are larger and therefore only a smaller number, for example five, can be formed in the same rolls as shown in FIGURE 5.

As shown in FIGURES. 7 and 8, housing 20'has windows 52 in itsends accommodating bearing'chocks 53. The chocks are confined by conventional keeper plates 53a. Spacer blocks 54 between the chocks at the same end of the housing determine the roll setting, i .e., the diameter of the pass defined 'by the roll grooves. Screws threaded through nuts 56 in the housing clamp the w parts of the roll assembly tightlytogether. Since the rolls will have a larger diameter in the last stands than in the early stands, I provide means for changing the positions of spindles 49 to suit the dilferent spacings of the roll centers in the two cases. Bearing discs 57 rotatable in bores inthe inner wall 22bof housing 22 have eccentric bores for the ends of spindles 49' as best shown in FIG- Thus, by rotating discs 57 through 180, the

- spacing of the centers of the inner ends of the couplings may be made to conform to that of the rolls. Pivoted latch arms 58 engage one of a pair of cars 59 on the'discs to hold them in one or the other of their two positions.

Referring again to FIGURE 5, the position of carriage 19 on the ways of trough 27 isdetermin'ed by pawls'in the form of toothed blocks" 60 secured to levers 61 pivoted to the side walls 28 of the horizontal. Levers 61 are actuated through links'62 by fluid-pressure cylinders 63 (FIGURE 3) mounted on brackets 64 secured to posts 18a. Blocks 60 engage ratchet members such'as toothedbars 65 secured to the flanged webs 31 extending downwardly from carriage 19. i The cooperating teeth on blocks 60 and bars 65 normally prevent movement of the carriage downwardly along ways 18 but 'do not prevent movement in the opposite direction.v That is to say, on upward travel of the carriage, the teeth on the bars lift 4 blocks 60 and levers 61 in the manner of an escapement.

V Spindle couplings .419 connect the shafts to the necks of a Links 62 are constantly urged downwardly by hydraulic pressure cylinders 63. When it is desired to move the carriage'downwardly along Ways 18, the cylinders are actuated to lift levers 61 and blocks 60 to positions inwhich the teeth on the blocks clear those on'the bars 65. The length of. the bars is suiiicient to permit setting any groove in rolls 59in alinernent with the pass line.

The principal advantage of the stand of my invention is its capability of being moved quickly into or out of operative position. I also provide means for presetting a desired change of position, such as moving the stand to bring the next set of roll grooves into the pass line, and causing such change to take place quickly at the d ir d t me, mean inc ud s a pr a hing cyl nd 0r ndexin d m (F G RE j u al s e nd W ll 3 9f bush a a a in 67 p a n ro th battom 2. t ers f- Drum 66 a plu of dcss 68 a d sum n ntia lv an? x l h e an is p i t a and Wh 69 a d a w nte 0 woperating with a fixed numbered dial 71 Thus the may be turned to a position such that any selected dog is uppermost;

Detent 72 has three dog-engaging faces 72a, 72b and 720 (FIGURE 6a) stepped inwardly from the forward end and across the width thereof. Thus the drum may be turned to one of five positions marked A, B, C, D and E in FIGURE 61;, in which the dogs 63 will engage the middle face 72b of detent 72. This providesequally spaced settings for the rolls having five grooves (those in the earlier stands of the mill). By turning the drum a small angle one way or the other from these positions," the dogs will be inposition to engage. face 72a or 72c.

' This affords ten equally spaced positions numbered 1 through 10 in FIGURE 6b for positioning the later stands having rolls with tengrooves. V V I Carriage 19 has a hole in the bottom thereof to accommodate a pivoted detent 72 adapted to cooperate with dogs 68. The latterare so shaped on one side that the detent is lifted thereby and rides fr eely over the one positioned uppermost as the carriage is moved downwardly'on ways 18. As it moves back, however, the detent strikes whichever dog is in the uppermost position and thus stops the caniage with the preselected set of roll grooves in the pass line. As previously explained, blocks 60 must be raised from bars 65 to permit downward movement of the carriage. By virtue of the con,- struction described, when it is desired to change the rolls of any stand to bring another set of grooves into operation, all that is necessary is to set the pointer to the number corresponding to the desired set of roll grooves,

. then raise blocks 60 and cause a downward traverse of j trained aroundta pulley on a counterweight 7.4 traveling in a chute 75 attached to the post. The otherend of each belt is secured to the upper end of the carriage (FIGURE l3) and travels around spaced pulleys 76 mounted on trough 27 by means of brackets 77, as the carriage is lowered and raised. i

A cover 78 of metal plate fits over the upper end of housing20 and prevents the entrance of dirt and scale.

As stated, the principal advantage of the stand of my invention is that it can quickly be moved to change roll grooves or to take the stand entirely out of Service when desired. Roll changes for maintenance or for making a different size of pipe may thus be effected quickly and easily. The stands may be arranged in multiple and in closely coupled relation on a common, rigid supporting frame, for convenient driving from a line shaft. The spline shaft 21 maintains the driving relation regardless of the carriage position. The carriage is firmly held on the guides at all times and the roll housing when operative is positively located with one set of roll grooves alined with the pass line. The housing is secured to the carriage by simple means but may nevertheless be quickly loosened and removed as a unit. The housings with their chocks and rolls are tightly set up before being installed on the carriage eliminating the need for adjustment in place.

The selector drum permits a prospective change in housing positions to be set up on :all stands of a mill in advance and the overall change to be elfected by a traverse and return stroke propelled by the fluid power cylinders provided.

The carriage has inclined surfaces which shed scale falling from the pipe toward openings in the frame between stands whence it falls into the sluice box therebelow for disposition. The inclined ways are fully protected from dirt and scale when the carriage is retracted.

The pivoted pipe support prevents deflection of the product between adjacent stands or beyond the last operative or active stand.

Although I have disclosed herein the preferred embodiment of my invention, I intend to cover as well any change or modification therein which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A rolling-mill stand comprising a sloping deck, a guide trough having spaced parallel ways secured to said deck and extending from the lower edge beyond the upper edge thereof, a carriage slidable up and down along said ways, said carriage including a base having a pinion-andspindle housing upstanding thereon, said base and housing together forming a V, a unitary roll housing removably seated in the V, resting on the base of said carriage with one end abutting said pinion-an-spindle housing, means releasably securing said roll housing to said base and power means for moving said carriage on said ways to shift the roll housing from an operative position adjacent the upper ends of the ways to an out-of-the-way position adjacent the lower ends of the ways and vice versa.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by said roll housing overhanging said trough at both sides thereof and fixed stops secured to the sides of said trough adapted to arrest the housing on retraction of the carriage beyond a predetermined point.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, characterized by pivoted stops mounted on said trough positioned to be engaged by said carriage before the housing engages said fixed stops.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by an anchorage adjacent the lower end of said trough, said means for advancing and retracting the carriage being a fluid-pressure cylinder mounted on the carriage, the piston rod of said cylinder being secured to said anchorage.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by said pinion-and-spindle housing having spindle-bearing discs rotatable therein, said discs having spindle-receiving holes therein eccentric with respect to the centers of rotation of said discs.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by flexible cover belts depending from the upper ends of said ways and secured to said carriage, adapted to be pulled down over the ways as the carriage is retracted.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by a bell crank pivoted adjacent said ways, a pipe support sleeve mounted on one arm thereof and means on the carriage adapted to engage the other arm thereby to bring the sleeve into operative position on retnaction of the carriage.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by ratchet-and-pawl means holding said carriage against downward movement on said ways.

9. A mill stand comprising a slidable carriage, a roll housing disposed on said carriage and means securing said housing to said carriage including clamping bolts at one end of said housing, a Wedging bar at the other end and a through bolt extending from said bar to said one end of the housing.

10. A mill stand comprising a carriage, a roll housing disposed on the carriage having cooperating rolls journaled therein, ways mounting said carriage for sliding movement parallel to the roll axes, power means for moving said carriage along said ways to effect a traverse in one direction and return, a selector drum journaled between and parallel to said ways having dogs spaced longitudinally and circumferentially thereof and a detent on said carriage engageable with one of said dogs, eifective to stop the carriage in a selected position after a traverse and return thereof along said ways.

11. Apparatus as defined by claim 10 characterized by said detent having a dog-engaging end with a plurality of faces stepped laterally of and inwardly from said end.

12. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 chaarcterized by a drain trough below said deck generally normal to said stand, said deck having openings therein admitting falling material to said drain trough.

13. A mill stand comprising a guide trough having spaced ways, a carriage slidable on said ways having a base, a roll housing removalbly secured to the base of said carriage, a flanged web depending from said carriage into said trough, a toothed surface extending along said web parallel to said ways, a toothed block mova bly mounted in said trough adapted to enage said surface, a lever pivoted in said trough on which said block is mounted and a link extending through the bottom of the trough pivoted to said lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent Germany Mar. 27, 1958 

